Quran Universe
9:62

يَحۡلِفُونَ بِٱللَّهِ لَكُمۡ لِيُرۡضُوكُمۡ وَٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ أَحَقُّ أَن يُرۡضُوهُ إِن كَانُواْ مُؤۡمِنِينَ

Yahlifoona biAllahi lakum liyurdookum waAllahu warasooluhu ahaqqu an yurdoohu in kanoo mumineena

They swear by Allah to you [Muslims] to satisfy you. But Allah and His Messenger are more worthy for them to satisfy, if they should be believers.

Word by word
  1. يَحۡلِفُونَThey swear
  2. بِٱللَّهِby Allah
  3. لَكُمۡto you
  4. لِيُرۡضُوكُمۡto please you
  5. وَٱللَّهُAnd Allah
  6. وَرَسُولُهُۥٓand His Messenger
  7. أَحَقُّ(have) more right
  8. أَنthat
  9. يُرۡضُوهُthey should please Him
  10. إِنif
  11. كَانُواْthey are
  12. مُؤۡمِنِينَbelievers
At-Tawbah · 9:62Madinah

They swear to please you. Allah is more worthy of pleasing.

Whose approval are you chasing

Two audiences
peoplesworn oaths to calm them
versus
Allah and His Messenger ﷺmore worthy of pleasing
Whose pleasure matters
keep people happyeven with lies
please Allahif you are believers

Qatadah reports that a hypocrite spoke scornfully of the Prophet's message; a Muslim heard and reported it. Summoned, the man swore by Allah he never said it, while the Muslim prayed: O Allah, confirm the truthful and expose the liar. This verse came: Allah and His Messenger ﷺ are more worthy to be pleased.

You get caught saying something unkind and your instinct is to deny it, to smooth it over, to win back their approval. It would be better to own it before Allah, and then make it right with them honestly.

As long as people are satisfied with my answer, I am fine.

Allah's pleasure matters more than smoothing things over with people.

Try this

Admit one small thing you said or did wrong, simply, without excuses.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

They swear by Allah to you (Muslims) in order to please you, but it is more fitting that they should please Allah and His Messenger, if they are believers (62)Know they not that whoever opposes and shows hostility to Allah and His Messenger, certainly for him will be the fire of Hell to abide therein. That is the extreme disgrace (63)

Hypocrites revert to Lies to please People

Qatadah said about Allah's statement,

يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ لَكُمْ لِيُرْضُوكُمْ

(They swear by Allah to you (Muslims) in order to please you)

"A hypocrite man said, 'By Allah! They (hypocrites) are our chiefs and masters. If what Muhammad says is true, they are worse than donkeys.' A Muslim man heard him and declared, 'By Allah! What Muhammad says is true and you are worse than a donkey!' The Muslim man conveyed what happened to the Prophet ﷺ who summoned the hypocrite and asked him,

مَا حَمَلَكَ عَلَى الَّذِي قُلْتَ؟

(What made you say what you said?) That man invoked curses on himself and swore by Allah that he never said that. Meanwhile, the Muslim man said, 'O Allah! Assert the truth of the truthful and expose the lies of the liar.' Allah revealed this Verse.'" Allah's statement,

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّهُ مَن يُحَادِدِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ

(Know they not that whoever opposes and shows hostility to Allah and His Messenger,) means, have they not come to know and realize that those who defy, oppose, wage war and reject Allah, thus becoming on one side while Allah and His Messenger ﷺ on another side,

فَأَنَّ لَهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدًا فِيهَا

(certainly for him will be the fire of Hell to abide therein), in a humiliating torment,

ذَٰلِكَ الْخِزْيُ الْعَظِيمُ

(That is the extreme disgrace)[9:63], that is the greatest disgrace and the tremendous misery.